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Electratherm generators are being deployed for utilizing geothermal brine in oil wells to generate electricity.

Another news piece about utilizing oil wells for geothermal applications, this time from a producer of heat-to-electricity generators. Simply very interesting and showing the potential in regions with oil wells.

“ElectraTherm, Inc., manufacturer of heat to power generators, today announced use of the ElectraTherm Green Machine in a significant geothermal application. ElectraTherm’s Texas partner, Gulf Coast Green Energy, will employ Green Machines to make clean electricity at two projects funded by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America. The first of those projects will make power from heat captured in geothermal brine, a common byproduct of drilling for oil. ElectraTherm Green Machines can convert low temperature (200 degree F) geothermal heat into electricity for onsite consumption, or to sell power to the grid.

ElectraTherm launched the 50 kW ElectraTherm with an installation at Southern Methodist University’s Geothermal Laboratory in June 2008. Since then, ElectraTherm has fielded interest from all over the world in the company’s fuel-free, emissions-free systems. The ElectraTherm Green Machine can produce power from a wide array of heat sources including industrial waste heat, stationary engines, biomass, and solar thermal installations. Recently interest in geothermal applications has taken center stage.

“Generating electricity from geothermal sources is ideal because it harnesses local energy sources and provides a secure domestic energy supply with stable output,” said Bill Olson, ElectraTherm Sr. VP of Business Development. “Given the modularity and scalability of ElectraTherm’s technology, the company plans to introduce geothermal systems from the current 50 kW size up to 500 kW. ElectraTherm’s smaller units can economically address smaller geothermal resources – including the tens of thousands of oil and gas wells in the U.S. and Canada alone. ElectraTherm’s larger units can be installed in parallel to rapidly construct multi-megawatt plants for larger geothermal resources.”

According to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, if we tapped 40 percent of the geothermal heat under the United States, it would meet demand 56,000 times over. MIT said an investment of $800 million to $1 billion could produce more than 100 gigawatts of electricity by 2050, equaling the combined output of all 104 nuclear power plants in the U.S.

The Geothermal Energy Association and the Geothermal Resource Council have recognized ElectraTherm’s renewable energy systems with their top awards as an innovative, low-cost solution for geothermal applications. By invitation of the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association, Olson recently presented a session titled, “The Green Machine: Innovative Power Technology” at the CanGEA annual conference in Vancouver, BC.